Friday, January 26, 2007

Flowers!

Emma loves to touch and "sniff" flowers! We were recently in a shop that sells Yankee Candles and had a large disply of the scentd votives. Emma had to stop and smell each and every one of them! It was too sweet. She will even make an "ummm" sound for the ones she really likes.

My dear friend Lisa sells children's clothing for a company called Beaux et Belles. I have bought clothes from her for my sons but I was so excited when I could shop for all of the smocked dresses for Emma from her. In the fall, I ordered this sweet little pink lollipop outfit for her. She looks so adorable! This month I ordered from their Spring line and I cannot wait for it to get here!!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

ABC - All About Me!I found this on a friend's blog and decided to play along.......

A - available or taken: takenB- best friend: Kimbo (Kimberly, my best friend from college who married my husband's best friend from college - could not be better!)C- cake or pie: depends....which kind? why can't I just have both??D- drink of choice: Coke - not Pepsi,but good 'ole Coca ColaE-essential item you use everyday: cell phoneand now my new laptopF-favorite color: red (okay also pink)G-gummy bears or worms: worms, as long as they are not sour (which happens to be my kids' favorite!)H-hometown: Atlanta, Georgia - grew up in Stone Mountain, now live in Historic Marietta (both suburbs of Atlanta)I-indulgence: Starbucks Green Tea Frappuchino (Venti!)J-January or February: January - My third son was born in January and we were DTC for Emma on January 31, 2005 and our dossier will go to China this month so we will have a January DTC for Sam as well!K-kid's names: Coleman, Jack, Robbie, Emma and SamL-life incomplete without: familyM-marriage date: March 20, 1993N-number of siblings: 1 brotherO-oranges or apples: again, don't make me choose - love them bothP-phobias or fears: flying (didn't make the LONG and MANY flights to and in China real fun for me or anyone around me!)Q-favorite quote: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.R-reason to smile: my beautiful childrenS-season: Fall - love the leaves and the pumpkins, BUT Spring is wonderful with all of the flowers and the rebirth of natureT-tag 3 people: Kimbo, Leigh and Janice(you know who you are "our 3 kids")U-unknown fact about me: I have a hard time making a decision - I'll bet you didn't know that about me! HA! See letters C, F, S and Y! No, seriously, I am an obsessed closet organizer - we all have different hanger colors for each family member and I hang our clothes according to sleeve length, collar and color.V-veggie I don't like: carrots - bleck!W-worst habit: spending too much moneyX-xrays: sinuses, lungs, lots of dental latelyY-your favorite food: ?Choices, Choices? Anything Mexican, pizza, popcorn, steak fajita quesadillas from Chili's,........Z-zodiac: Cancer

I cannot believe that our little Emma is 2 years old! She has grown and changed so much in the last year - even in the last week! She sings along when you sing "Happy Birthday" to her and her fabulous lips are showcased everytime she sings "you." Then she claps. We will ask her, "Who wants to open presents?" and she'll say "I do!" And "cake" has become one her favorite words. In fact, below are pictures of what happens if Mommy isn't getting the cake to Emma fast enough! Priceless!

Funny Funny Emma - she still loves this hat but now the Bunny Slippers she got for Christmas are a "must wear at all times" item as well. As a child, and admittedly as an adult, I have always had a penchant for bunny slippers so it was only fitting for my daughter to carry on the tradition - I actually still have all of my bunny slippers. I guess I'll pass on the collection to Emma.

Santa!!!!!We must have been really good again this year because Santa left a room full of toys!! Coleman and Jack both got iPods and iPod pillows, Robbie got a Spiderman tent full of Spidey jammies, slippers, dinner set and a Robopet, and Emma got a kitchen. We pulled out a surprise present for the kids from us - a Wii! They were all so surprised! There is quite a story behind our acquisition of the Wii, but I'll save that for another day! My mom, dad and brother came over for Christmas brunch and the family present extravaganza before we turned around to cook again and host my dad's huge family for Christmas dinner. We started this tradition a few years ago, and we love hosting it at our house because the kids get to stay home with all of their Christmas goodies all day long! As I have gotten older, I have really grown to appreciate family get togethers, and I cherish the time I spend with my relatives. We really had a wonderful Christmas!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

ChristmasEve!!Every year on Christmas eve, we open presents to each other before we go to Aunt Jama's for the Hedden Family Christmas. At Jama's we have a present extravanganza and then have a wonderful dinner followed by singing Christmas songs while Papa plays his guitar. It has become a wonderful tradition. Every year for the past 3 years, Russ' parents have surprised us with a family trip to Disney World. The kids are starting to expect it so this year they announced the surprise a little differently. After the presents are all open, Mimi usually recites a catchy poem she has written that, in the end, reveals the trip. Knowing that the kids were waiting for it, she decided to wait until after dinner to make the announcement. After singing all of the Christmas songs, Papa starts playing the Mickey Mouse theme song and we all start singing to it. Coleman was the first to catch on and then the others slowly figured it out. They were so excited! This will be the 3rd Annual Papoo and Pals Disney trip. After Jama's we go home to leave egg nog and cookies for Santa before settling down for a long winter's nap (though there hasn't been much of a winter this year with temps in the 60s for Christmas!). Coleman wrote the sweetest note to Santa saying that he knew that Santa had already been to China (since they are 12 hours ahead of us) and hoped that he had been good to Sam. Tissues, please. We all cried. What a precious heart Coleman has. We are so thankful that Sam will be home for Christmas next year!